by Christina Randle
Bonking is a term mostly used in endurance sports. It is the point when you hit a wall. There’s nothing left physically, emotionally or mentally. I became familiar with this term several years ago when I took up the sport of cycling. I’d go on a ride and get so excited and focused on keeping up with the more experienced riders that I wouldn’t stop to hydrate, rest or eat. Next thing I knew, I had bonked.
It’s hard to recover and manage through the pain or tired or feeling that you just can’t go on. The body, mind and emotions seem to conspire against every desire there is to finish, to succeed. In unison, all aspects of ones being scream STOP!
Over time I got better at managing this bonking in cycling with training, stops for water, and snacks.
This past week it happened to me. But I wasn’t on my bike; I was working. I’m a big-picture, desired outcome, delegate the details and inspire others to complete them with great success gal/ manager/ leader/professional. So the pressure to complete four significant and mission critical projects by the end of the month, with all the endless details, left me dry and spent. I don’t do this much research and detail work naturally. These detailed projects weren’t my forte. All of this on top of the rest of my life, which is very full in itself.
It felt like a heavy weight was keeping me from breathing, keeping me from moving. All the details were screaming at me to handle them – and now. But there wasn’t the energy to do them.
When you bonk, it’s fruitless to keep going no matter how determined. It doesn’t produce any results. I needed some different perspective. So, I left my work and went for a bike ride.
During my ride, I heard myself replaying what we say to clients- we are holistic people, all the time; even at work. We are physical, mental, emotional and spiritual beings. But I’d pushed myself too far mentally and emotionally to drive these projects. I’d stopped taking care of the physical and spiritual. I’d stopped exercising and taking time out to find the beauty, listen inside, be quiet even if just for a few minutes.
It was a good reminder. With a fresh perspective, I returned home, stretched and sat quiet for a few minutes. When I returned to work, I felt balanced, focused and energized. I felt as if I’d re-learned one of life’s beautiful lessons. It’s only when we honor all of ourselves that we give our best.
Stated another way, thank goodness for bonking!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Super Powers over Email
by Kristi Willis
The other day I read an article about people declaring e-mail bankruptcy. Their e-mail had gotten so out of control that they gave up, deleted everything in their inbox and sent out an e-mail message that said they had declared e-mail bankruptcy and if you had anything outstanding with them to please re-send the item to them.
I wasn’t sure whether to be horrified or laugh.
In these tough economic times, “bankruptcy” is back in our day-to-day dialogue, but e-mail bankruptcy?
If you think about it though, the term makes sense. Just like people who declare financial bankruptcy, these people probably feel so out of control that they don’t see a way out. They don’t know how to process or organize their e-mail, so the count of unread messages in their inbox is probably spinning upward like the numbers on a pinball machine. I can definitely understand how that could stress you out and why all you would want is a fresh start.
As I mused about it, I realized that I was probably on the verge of e-mail bankruptcy myself in more than one job. My favorite “patch” was to print e-mails that I needed to do so I would have the paper on my desk and wouldn’t forget. That was a real winning strategy – then I had thousands of e-mails in my inbox AND paper all over my desk. It makes me shudder just to think about it.
I am so grateful for my EDGE system. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have an out of control inbox again, and I don’t ever plan to find out.
Now, if I could just find some sort of super hero powers so I could go save those other folks out there before they declare e-mail bankruptcy….Maybe my name could be Super EDGE.
The other day I read an article about people declaring e-mail bankruptcy. Their e-mail had gotten so out of control that they gave up, deleted everything in their inbox and sent out an e-mail message that said they had declared e-mail bankruptcy and if you had anything outstanding with them to please re-send the item to them.
I wasn’t sure whether to be horrified or laugh.
In these tough economic times, “bankruptcy” is back in our day-to-day dialogue, but e-mail bankruptcy?
If you think about it though, the term makes sense. Just like people who declare financial bankruptcy, these people probably feel so out of control that they don’t see a way out. They don’t know how to process or organize their e-mail, so the count of unread messages in their inbox is probably spinning upward like the numbers on a pinball machine. I can definitely understand how that could stress you out and why all you would want is a fresh start.
As I mused about it, I realized that I was probably on the verge of e-mail bankruptcy myself in more than one job. My favorite “patch” was to print e-mails that I needed to do so I would have the paper on my desk and wouldn’t forget. That was a real winning strategy – then I had thousands of e-mails in my inbox AND paper all over my desk. It makes me shudder just to think about it.
I am so grateful for my EDGE system. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have an out of control inbox again, and I don’t ever plan to find out.
Now, if I could just find some sort of super hero powers so I could go save those other folks out there before they declare e-mail bankruptcy….Maybe my name could be Super EDGE.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Reward Yourself
by Russell Tibbits
It is now just past 3:30PM on Friday, June 13th. For the past few hours, I been in my office on the 16th floor overlooking the amazing intersection at 6th and Congress. On a typical Friday afternoon, traffic increases by the hour and the sounds of the approaching weekend fill the streets with life. However, today is not an ordinary Friday. Today, the Republic of Texas bike rally stops in Austin. The thunderous roar and rumble of Harley Davidson motorcycles cruising toward Congress Avenue drown out the standard Friday commuters. The shouts and yells from bike to bike make inaudible the usual foot traffic created by pedestrians.
What occurs to me as I write this blog is the idea of balancing our work with our personal life. At Spring Hill College, my colleagues and I performed several case studies on Harley Davidson. The one fact that I always found fascinating is the profile of the typical Harley Davidson customer entering the 21st century- lawyers, doctors, engineers, chief executive officers. These aren’t all rebellious kids or young adults as we so often picture. These are professionals with a large amount of tasks and projects. They receive emails and voicemails. They have supervisors and team members, filing systems and paper inboxes. They have spouses and children, pets to feed, bills to pay, and lawns to mow.
Yet every year, masses of motorcycle enthusiasts escape their day-to-day responsibilities. They arrive in Austin, exchanging, for a few days, their professional passions for their personal. Despite the professional responsibilities, they are able to make time for themselves, putting at the forefront the all too often forgotten responsibility of occasionally putting ourselves first.
When was the last time you put yourself first? Reward yourself for a job well done. Like me, you may be amazed at how easily you are then able to reengage in your professional responsibilities after you've had a chance to let your motor roar for a little while.
It is now just past 3:30PM on Friday, June 13th. For the past few hours, I been in my office on the 16th floor overlooking the amazing intersection at 6th and Congress. On a typical Friday afternoon, traffic increases by the hour and the sounds of the approaching weekend fill the streets with life. However, today is not an ordinary Friday. Today, the Republic of Texas bike rally stops in Austin. The thunderous roar and rumble of Harley Davidson motorcycles cruising toward Congress Avenue drown out the standard Friday commuters. The shouts and yells from bike to bike make inaudible the usual foot traffic created by pedestrians.
What occurs to me as I write this blog is the idea of balancing our work with our personal life. At Spring Hill College, my colleagues and I performed several case studies on Harley Davidson. The one fact that I always found fascinating is the profile of the typical Harley Davidson customer entering the 21st century- lawyers, doctors, engineers, chief executive officers. These aren’t all rebellious kids or young adults as we so often picture. These are professionals with a large amount of tasks and projects. They receive emails and voicemails. They have supervisors and team members, filing systems and paper inboxes. They have spouses and children, pets to feed, bills to pay, and lawns to mow.
Yet every year, masses of motorcycle enthusiasts escape their day-to-day responsibilities. They arrive in Austin, exchanging, for a few days, their professional passions for their personal. Despite the professional responsibilities, they are able to make time for themselves, putting at the forefront the all too often forgotten responsibility of occasionally putting ourselves first.
When was the last time you put yourself first? Reward yourself for a job well done. Like me, you may be amazed at how easily you are then able to reengage in your professional responsibilities after you've had a chance to let your motor roar for a little while.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Making the Weekly Update Yours
by Kim Brewster
One of my most dreaded tasks in the first few months of my job was a weekly update e-mail that we send to let everyone know what we’ve been up to. With our trainers out so often, it’s nice to have that weekly connection.
As office coordinator, there are a lot of the usual weekly tasks to promote smooth processes between the president, our team members and me. A lot of my e-mails are things that can be handled in two minutes or less (remember from the 4 D’s – Do It if it takes less than 2 minutes) – hardly stimulating material but definitely filler if I chose to list them. My team members also don’t need to know how many airline reservations I booked last week or how many spreadsheets I updated. What they need to know is the status of projects, processes and requests.
But somewhere between the mystical and mundane, there is life. So often, our work lives take on a life of their own and we forget or don’t elevate what is important to us outside of work. Take time to include something from your personal life in your updates. It helps you remember those special times and lets your co-workers know there’s more to each of us than our job descriptions or titles.
Of course, choosing how much “personal” you choose to share depends on the audience. But hobbies, classes you may be taking, movies you saw, books you read, what’s happening with kids-grandkids-pets, vacations, etc., are all worthy of capturing. Plus those activities are part of our work/life balance or we would be just work.
Why wait until Friday afternoon or Monday morning and try to recapture the past week? If I don’t write something important down, it’s like burping Tupperware – it escapes. My best tip for staying on top of an update e-mail is to record items daily. I keep a draft e-mail documenting what I’ve done this week which can be added to daily or as something is completed.
One of my most dreaded tasks in the first few months of my job was a weekly update e-mail that we send to let everyone know what we’ve been up to. With our trainers out so often, it’s nice to have that weekly connection.
As office coordinator, there are a lot of the usual weekly tasks to promote smooth processes between the president, our team members and me. A lot of my e-mails are things that can be handled in two minutes or less (remember from the 4 D’s – Do It if it takes less than 2 minutes) – hardly stimulating material but definitely filler if I chose to list them. My team members also don’t need to know how many airline reservations I booked last week or how many spreadsheets I updated. What they need to know is the status of projects, processes and requests.
But somewhere between the mystical and mundane, there is life. So often, our work lives take on a life of their own and we forget or don’t elevate what is important to us outside of work. Take time to include something from your personal life in your updates. It helps you remember those special times and lets your co-workers know there’s more to each of us than our job descriptions or titles.
Of course, choosing how much “personal” you choose to share depends on the audience. But hobbies, classes you may be taking, movies you saw, books you read, what’s happening with kids-grandkids-pets, vacations, etc., are all worthy of capturing. Plus those activities are part of our work/life balance or we would be just work.
Why wait until Friday afternoon or Monday morning and try to recapture the past week? If I don’t write something important down, it’s like burping Tupperware – it escapes. My best tip for staying on top of an update e-mail is to record items daily. I keep a draft e-mail documenting what I’ve done this week which can be added to daily or as something is completed.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Why I Do This Work
by Robertt Young
I have been in business development, sales and training for the last 20 years. I have always been a bit of an enigma in the sense that I not only sold training programs but I delivered them too. This has its own set of unique rewards and challenges.
On the reward side, I am paid for sales. And when I delivered what I sold, I am paid for that too. The challenge however were the nagging questions: When do I sell? When do I deliver?
When email came along, that added another level of complexity to what I was doing. Before I got the EDGE I was buried in email and paper. I was trying to balance my delivery schedule and new business development- following up with clients and closing sales. I felt completely overwhelmed. When I was at work I was thinking about home; when I was at home I was thinking about work. My focus was suffering, my sales were down and I was working 14 – 16 hour days. I lived in my inbox when I was in the office and spent a lot of my time managing email rather than calling clients, prospecting and managing my accounts. I carried everything around in my head and things were falling through the cracks.
A friend of mine then told me about a position opening up with a company in California. They taught time management and sold a paper-based planner. I interviewed with them and was hired to sell and train. The “system” was a combination of unique thought processes involving how to deal with everything on your plate and manage everything in your life. As I began to use the “system,” I found my life coming together; I regained almost an hour of productivity a day and my life felt in control. A colleague at this company decided to start her own company, utilizing Microsoft Outlook as the tool instead of the paper-based planner. She asked me to come to work for her.
It was at this point that everything came together for me. It addressed the one thing that was missing from the “system” I had been using- how to deal with email and the resulting frustration from the inbox. With this new tool, I was able to manage everything in one place. The new “system” complemented and enhanced everything I had learned before. And when I delivered the workshop, two interesting things happened. At the end of the day, participants would actually stay after the class and continue to work in Outlook. I would also get emails and phone calls from participants telling me how the workshop had changed the way they work and helped them be more productive.
This is the story of how I got the EDGE. I do this work because it enables me to teach the very system that helped me.
I have been in business development, sales and training for the last 20 years. I have always been a bit of an enigma in the sense that I not only sold training programs but I delivered them too. This has its own set of unique rewards and challenges.
On the reward side, I am paid for sales. And when I delivered what I sold, I am paid for that too. The challenge however were the nagging questions: When do I sell? When do I deliver?
When email came along, that added another level of complexity to what I was doing. Before I got the EDGE I was buried in email and paper. I was trying to balance my delivery schedule and new business development- following up with clients and closing sales. I felt completely overwhelmed. When I was at work I was thinking about home; when I was at home I was thinking about work. My focus was suffering, my sales were down and I was working 14 – 16 hour days. I lived in my inbox when I was in the office and spent a lot of my time managing email rather than calling clients, prospecting and managing my accounts. I carried everything around in my head and things were falling through the cracks.
A friend of mine then told me about a position opening up with a company in California. They taught time management and sold a paper-based planner. I interviewed with them and was hired to sell and train. The “system” was a combination of unique thought processes involving how to deal with everything on your plate and manage everything in your life. As I began to use the “system,” I found my life coming together; I regained almost an hour of productivity a day and my life felt in control. A colleague at this company decided to start her own company, utilizing Microsoft Outlook as the tool instead of the paper-based planner. She asked me to come to work for her.
It was at this point that everything came together for me. It addressed the one thing that was missing from the “system” I had been using- how to deal with email and the resulting frustration from the inbox. With this new tool, I was able to manage everything in one place. The new “system” complemented and enhanced everything I had learned before. And when I delivered the workshop, two interesting things happened. At the end of the day, participants would actually stay after the class and continue to work in Outlook. I would also get emails and phone calls from participants telling me how the workshop had changed the way they work and helped them be more productive.
This is the story of how I got the EDGE. I do this work because it enables me to teach the very system that helped me.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The Benefit of the 4D's
by Diane Holz
Hi, I am the Finance Director and it’s my time to be the blogger. You might wonder what the Finance Director can know about productivity. I wondered the same thing but here I am. I would like to tell you one instance (among many) where I have said to myself…wow, this is really good stuff the trainers teach.
The other day I overheard one of the trainers doing a segment of their training session. The marketing person has been listening to video clips of the trainers, selecting which ones to use on our web-site. Since I share the cubicle next to hers, I got to hear one of the trainers say something that really made sense to me and stood out.
The trainer was surmising that some people open their email, read one message and go on to the next message, thinking they will come back to that message and do something with it later. How many of you have done the same thing? At some point you go back and re-read the message, and maybe do something with it – or leave it yet again for another time to deal with it. Think how many emails you get and initially read, go back yet another time and read the email, go back yet another time and read the email, go back yet another time and read the email…and on and on.
I know that I am guilty of reading emails and going on and reading my other emails. Then I go back through and prioritize what I need to do with the emails…leaving some for tomorrow…or another day when I have more time to deal with it. The trainer’s point was, have you then read one email, or have you now read one email ten times?
If you do that with ten emails a day, you are actually then reading 50 more emails a week. I thought…wow, I don’t have the time to read fifty more emails a week I know that for some emails I don’t just read them two times, I know that sometimes I read them three or four times. What makes me do this with my emails –I usually listen to my voice mail, write down the message and what to do and then delete it. Why don’t I do the same for email?
What I know is, it’s time to revisit the 4Ds. After I read this e-mail.
Hi, I am the Finance Director and it’s my time to be the blogger. You might wonder what the Finance Director can know about productivity. I wondered the same thing but here I am. I would like to tell you one instance (among many) where I have said to myself…wow, this is really good stuff the trainers teach.
The other day I overheard one of the trainers doing a segment of their training session. The marketing person has been listening to video clips of the trainers, selecting which ones to use on our web-site. Since I share the cubicle next to hers, I got to hear one of the trainers say something that really made sense to me and stood out.
The trainer was surmising that some people open their email, read one message and go on to the next message, thinking they will come back to that message and do something with it later. How many of you have done the same thing? At some point you go back and re-read the message, and maybe do something with it – or leave it yet again for another time to deal with it. Think how many emails you get and initially read, go back yet another time and read the email, go back yet another time and read the email, go back yet another time and read the email…and on and on.
I know that I am guilty of reading emails and going on and reading my other emails. Then I go back through and prioritize what I need to do with the emails…leaving some for tomorrow…or another day when I have more time to deal with it. The trainer’s point was, have you then read one email, or have you now read one email ten times?
If you do that with ten emails a day, you are actually then reading 50 more emails a week. I thought…wow, I don’t have the time to read fifty more emails a week I know that for some emails I don’t just read them two times, I know that sometimes I read them three or four times. What makes me do this with my emails –I usually listen to my voice mail, write down the message and what to do and then delete it. Why don’t I do the same for email?
What I know is, it’s time to revisit the 4Ds. After I read this e-mail.
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